The Reinvention of Harry Styles (Completed)

Chapter 18

Molly felt the hot water pour over her back, steam swirling around the shower between her and Harry. Little droplets of water formed on Harry's eyelashes, making him look ethereal and angelic.

'Ironic,' Molly thought, as she pieced together her response. They were just inches apart, and if they had not just finished a round of whiskey and angst fueled sex, she would have been all over him.

"Ohhh Harry..." Molly closed her eyes for a moment. "I'm sure that sounded better in your head, but open up your eyes, shut your mouth, and see that you're the only one who's been in love with you." She brushed past him out of the shower and grabbed a towel.

"Hey..." He turned around. "You can't use my own lyrics against me. And what is that even supposed to mean?"

"Really, Harry?" Molly flipped her hair forward and wrapped it up in a towel. "You realized you couldn't have Daisy, so you settled for the next best thing? Or the closest available thing?"

"That's not what I meant." He reached back into the shower to turn it off, and Molly tossed him a towel.

"The sun is not available, so instead of going after another star, you're going to settle for the moon, because it's closest? The moon is basically just a shiny rock reflecting the sun. I'm guessing you're Earth in this metaphor?"

"Molly, that's, I don't know, maybe I'm Earth?" Harry finished drying off and wrapped the towel around his waist as he tried to sort his thoughts out.

"You do realize the Earth revolves around the sun, and the moon around the Earth?" Molly took a step closer. "Are you saying my life revolves around you?"

"No, I didn't mean it like that-"

"Because it kind of does. I can't get a job, I can't get a boyfriend, I'm just stuck pretending to be your girlfriend-"

"Molly." Harry took a step closer.

"And pretty soon, I'm going to have to start paying off my student loans-"

"Molly..." He took another step.

"I can't even help my mom find an apartment because I'm stuck with you all the time, so she's staying in the guest bedroom of my parents' house while they go through a divorce-"

Harry leaned in the last few inches and kissed her, interrupting her long string of complaints. He carefully cupped her face with his hand, and to his surprise, she leaned into him and wrapped her arms around him. It was so different than how she'd clung to him less than an hour ago as he carried her up the stairs to his bedroom; it was more like she was holding on to the only stable thing in her life as the rest of it swirled around her in a tornado.

"We can fix that. All of it. Well, I can't fix your parent's divorce, I'm sorry, but we can get your mom a new place. And, I don't know about getting you a job, but since that's my fault, I can pay off your student loans. As long as they're not, like, more than one million dollars, because that would raise a bit of suspicion." Harry smirked.

Molly relaxed in his arms a bit and pulled away so she could see him. "Are you trying to bribe me into dating you?"

"I don't recall asking you out?" Harry smirked.

"Good, maybe I don't want to." Molly half smiled and left to get dressed in her room.

Harry fell back onto his bed once she was gone. 'What the hell was that?' He closed his eyes and took a deep breath. 'Okay, it wasn't a no, but it wasn't a yes. You're doing great, Harry...''

* * *

"I'm sorry, I know there's a fee for canceling an appointment less than 24 hours in advance, but is there any way I could reschedule instead?" Daisy realized Zoe probably did not cancel that doctor's appointment she'd asked her to, and found the number online herself.